“Clearly illustrates why the duo is being heralded
as one of the UK’s most promising talents at the moment.” –Mixmag

“The Bristol-based brotherly duo have established themselves as out of the box thinkers.”–Earmilk

Fresh from releasing their latest track‘Echoes’which hit#3on theBBC Radio 1 Dance Chart,Bristol’sinnovative crossover production duoIcarushave teamed up withLondontrioRealLiesfor their new single‘Man of the Land’.

Both‘Man of the Land’and‘Echoes’feature onIcarus’snew EP‘This Must Be The Place’which followsonNovember30th.The EP representsIcarus’slatest longer form conceptual project after releasing the‘In The Dark’EP earlier this year.

‘Man of the Land’represents the darker, cinematic extreme ofIcarus’ssonic spectrum. The hypnotic beat captures the feeling of pounding the city streets late at night before the drop accentuates its dramatic feel. It’s a track which findsIcarusstrengthening the evocative atmospheric qualities of past tracks such as‘No Sleep’and‘Hiding’.

Real Lies’lyrics delve into the experiences of a transient character whose solitary life on the capital’s empty streets is set against the contrast of its hectic late night bars. It captures a feeling of urban anxiety that could only be nocturnalLondon. As the song’s narrator notes,“I come from Cally Road, not California.”

Widely praised for theirself-titled debut album,NoiseysummarisedReal Lies’approach by stating,“Although an echo chamber of past influences mixed with the contemporary ambience of Burial orJamie xx, their defining factor is the thoroughly modern ennui that infects their lyrics.”

Icarusexplain the EP’s concept:“The theme of this EP is based around always moving from one place to the next, or running away – as well as the thoughts, feelings and emotions which come from living this way. There are moments of feeling free from being tied down and having endless possibilities. But there’s also a loneliness and anxiety that comes from simply moving on rather than addressing your problems. It’s not about making a judgment on people who are in that situation, it’s just an exploration of a yin-and-yang lifestyle.”

Since debuting in2015with the‘Don’t Cry Wolf’EP,ICARUShave progressed from being a hotly-tipped name to become a regular fixture on daytime radio.Annie Machas been a long-term admirer, not only picking four consecutive singles as herHottest Record(‘Love Has Come Around’,‘King Kong’,‘Trouble’and‘No Sleep’) but also booking them for herLost & Found Festival.

ICARUS’sother radio highlights include a sun-scorched set atRadio 1 Live in Ibizaand contributing anEssential MixforPeteTong. In addition toAnnieMac, their other supporters at radio have includedPeteTong,PhilTaggart,DannyHoward,MistaJam,MonkiandAliceLevine. Their wide-ranging list of fans also includesPendulum, who invited them to remix their classic track‘Tarantula’from their all-star collabs album‘The Reworks’.

Earlier this year,ICARUSdebuted their full live band show which they then took on a headline tour and then to theSouth West Four Weekender. They’re now poised to hit the road withRüfüsDuSolon their‘Solace’tour: first with a run ofNorthAmericanshows which culminates with three nights atNewYork’sTerminal5, and then as special guests on the followingUKdates:

Allow us to catch you up… It’s been six years since Richard Durand sent us his boldly high-concept ‘Richard Durand Versus The World’ album. It’s reasonable to say that in the meantime his outlook on many aspects of life – both personal and professional – have shifted.

Over that period he has circled the planet a dozen + times, DJing, producing travelling, experiencing and life balancing. It’s also a timeframe within which he experienced loss (through the passing of his long-time friend & manager) and a near sizeable shift in his trance music tastes. (The latter prompting him to depart the ‘In Search Of Sunrise’ mix series).

Consequently Richard has been on album-pause while the frequencies realigned and life loops resolved. He always knew that when he returned to the medium (after 2009’s ‘Always The Sun’, 2011s ‘Wide Awake’ and 2012’s ‘R.D.V.T.W.’), it had to be with a world-beater. To that end Durand has spent much of the last 14 months developing a new track collection, strong in both number (it features 19 productions) and sonic nature. It also bucks the current trend of collab, collab, collab, its assembly being far more Richard’s own singular take on the trance sound. Where studio partnerships occur, artistically they do so organically. They take place with likeminded operators (Marco V, Mark Sherry, Sied van Riel, by way of example) who share Richard’s vision of a tougher, more propulsive clubbing tomorrow. Similarly vocal cuts are distinct in their rarity – Christina Novelli and Mike Schmidt (last heard on Cosmic Gate’s ‘Nothing Can Touch You Now’) make appearances throughout its course.

The album is a release whose essence is bound in the oneness of the hypnotic, marching and indeed flat-out entrancing character of trance. ‘The Air We Breathe’ is as much an exhalation as inhalation for the Dutchman, and one with the unmistakable subtext of one musical era passing and the beginning of another.

The album overtures with ‘Insolidus’, which Richard co-produced with Geert Huinink. Through Durand’s remixing of Huinink’s (the legendary co-writer of Tiësto’s opening three albums) ‘The Sacred Vine’, Geert makes a second appearance but a few tracks later. Vocal number ‘Kill The Fear’ (sung by Mike Schmid) and the deeper edge of ‘Land Of Angels’ further assist in ‘The Air We Breathe’s development.

From there its physics become markedly more gravity defying, and the album gears up to the serious business of floor elevation. ‘Skies Above’, ‘Aida’, ‘Lotus’ and the Sied van Riel-coproduced ‘Universal Minds’ collectively put it in flight mode.

With the midpoint-marking ‘Pandora’ and the Mark Sherry co-produced ‘Cosmic Dawn’ comes another pivot point. It assumes a harder, tougher, more angular profile, as (the tellingly titled) ‘Savage’, ‘Toxic’, ‘Vortex’, (alongside Marco V’) and the deliciously unsettling ‘Boogieman’ supply it an onrush of ‘4AM’-ness. At track 19, the album emerges blinking into the light, with Richard’s Beatport chart topping, most recent single (alongside Christina Novelli), ‘The Air I Breathe’.

An LP that faces up to the six-years-later challenges and surmounts each through sheer auditory force, Richard Durand’s fourth album ‘The Air We Breathe’ is available to stream/purchase here, from today:https://richarddurand.choons.at/tawb

For his second release on Gareth Emery and Ashley Wallbridge’s Garuda imprint, Darude unleashes ‘Timeless’ alongside U.S. Billboard Top 2 artist JVMIE. After the success of the Finnish dance music star’s first Trance offering to Garuda, this brand-new single is set to achieve huge acclaim as JVMIE’s captivating vocals perfectly complement the legendary production.

The track opens with a signature Trance momentum that builds towards soaring beats atop rolling snare builds and drops, accompanied by JVMIE’s epic vocal. Maximum impact is achieved in the midriff of the six-minute release, which undulates through a snappy Trance beat and vocal to elevate the track to unmistakable club status.

‘Timeless’ sees Darude collaborate with Gold Coast star JVMIE. The Australian singer has been topping charts and wowing international audiences in recent years, peaking at number 2 in the Billboard’s Club Dance chart with ‘Back 2 Love’, a song with Grammy-winning producer Dave Audé. A finalist in the Artist Of The Year category in the GC Music Awards, JVMIE’s latest single ‘Chasing’ was listed in both ‘Best of the Week’ and ‘Hot Tracks’ on Apple Music, and reached top 30 on Billboard’s Club Dance chart.

After returning with a completely reimagined label ahead of their 10th anniversary in 2019, Garuda looked to bring fresh, dynamic material to the Trance scene, and Darude’s previous single ‘Surrender’ was one of the first. The track, which was made in collaboration with Ashley Wallbridge, got premiered on Armin van Buuren’s legendary ‘A State of Trance’ radio show, topped Beatport’s Trance charts and garnered a huge wealth of support from the likes of Andrew Ravel, W&W and Markus Schulz along with high-profile support on Sirius XM’s BPM radio.

Darude remains one of dance music’s most influential artists, with his seminal release ‘Sandstorm’ recently receiving over 100 million streams on Spotify. His ‘Surrender’ tour marked a momentous start to 2018 for the Finnish trance giant, who continues to add to his stellar discography and remains as fresh as ever with recent releases such as ‘Singularity’ and a remix of Max Millian’s huge ‘You Are The One’.

With October tour dates set to take him to America, Australia, Canada and Singapore, there will be plenty of opportunity for fans to hear Australia offerings both old and new on the dance floor.

‘Roots’ is Faruk Sabanci’s upcoming Friday release. We spoke to him to find out more about the track and here is what Faruk said about his new track:

“‘Roots’ started out as nothing more than a studio experiment at a time I was heavily influenced by alternative electronic acts such as Nathan Fake, Moderat and Stephan Bodzin. The track was not a project I had planned working on however as it all progressed, shaping up into a blend of Techno, Trance and Progressive, I felt an immediate reminiscence to my beginnings, hence the title ‘Roots’. After finishing the track I sent it over to Armin van Buuren who I know has a broad spectrum and an open mind who then instantly felt the vibe and signed it. Out of pure coincidence we ran into each other at a private party in Amsterdam a few days after signing the track and I was rather flattered to see how excited he was about putting this out. To this day I still can’t identify what genre it is, but all I wanted to do was to create something outside the box that is pure, raw and rustic.”Listen to ‘Roots’ here.

Radiating one of those beloved, old-school Trance vibes while still remaining contemporary, Faruk Sabanci’s debut on Armind is like a piece of music culture sprung back to life. A sterling example of in-studio innovation, “Roots” might just be the foremost precursor of the future of Trance music.

With his new track ‘Savour This Moment’ Orjan Nilsen again shows what a great DJ/producer he is and he is sharing his knowledge! You can now follow Orjan Nilsen’s own masterclass at Armada University. You even have the chance to finish his track and win a release at Armada! Please visit university.armadamusic.com for more information. Listen to ‘Savour This Moment’ here.

The Norwegian grandmaster of melodies is back on Armind and known like no other how to make the moment count. A guarantee for plenty of hands-in-the-air action, his new record is all you wanted and more. It’s up to you to ‘Savour This Moment.

Balancing out the raw power of its high-impact synth drop with April Bender’s gorgeous vocals, KhoMha’s ‘Colorblind’ is a delight to the senses. Alluring, intoxicating and super energetic at all times, this tune could very well be one of KhoMha’s best productions yet.